The annual competition,
launched in 2014, recognizes businesses that benefit their
communities economically, socially and environmentally. The
deadline for applications is July 31.

Judges will select semifinalists in August and a public vote
will help narrow the field in September. Finalists will give
presentations during a live event Nov. 12 at Kitsap Conference
Center in Bremerton, and the winner will be announced the same
day.

Last year’s competition drew about 70 entries.
The winner was Pawzii, Inc., a company founded in Bremerton
with offices in Seattle. Pawzii offers online pet licensing
services.

A painful but potentially rejuvenating process has come to
an end on Poulsbo’s Viking Avenue.

A Kitsap County Superior Court judge approved a motion June
26 terminating receivership for the former Courtesy Auto Group
properties.

All told, six parcels formerly owned by the Hern family
have been sold since 2013, fetching about $4.6 million.

The properties were home to a number of Courtesy Auto
dealerships, forming the core of Poulsbo’s once-bustling
automotive corridor.

Union Bank successfully petitioned the court to appoint a
receiver for the properties in 2011, seeking repayment of
a $10 million loan made by Frontier Bank to the Herns in 2009.
Union Bank took over the loan after
Frontier failed in 2010.

Here’s a look at the Courtesy Auto properties sold and
what businesses are there now:

1. Chevrolet building — $1.4 million

Sold on: April
10, 2013

Sold to: Christina and Scott Hensrude

Current assessed value: $1.09
million

Description: 1.43 acres with a
16,350-square-foot showroom at 19873 Viking Ave. NW, on the
southwest corner of Edvard Street and Viking.

Contractors filed for site development and
building permits from the county for the project, and
are seeking coverage under state stormwater permits, according
to a legal notice published Tuesday.

Costco plans to add 13,300 square feet to the north end of its
warehouse, while reconfiguring its receiving bay. The addition
will increase the building’s overall footprint to 152,760 square
feet, according to plans filed with the county

Costco will also shift its fuel station from the southwest
corner of the parking lot to the southeast corner. The old
fuel station will be replaced with new parking.

(Click on the image above to see my approximation of Costco’s
plans.)

The project is expected to begin at the end of August and be
completed by September 2016, according to an application filed with
the Department of Ecology.

A store manager has not yet returned a message left this
week requesting more detail. Costco is located at 10000
Mickelberry Road.

The order represents a $17.8 million
modification to an existing contract awarded to SAFE Boats
last year for a second installment of Mk VI vessels. All told, SAFE
Boats will build 12 of the patrol boats for the Navy.

The company, with headquarters on
Charleston Beach Road, was one of two to bid. Funding will come
from the 2015 fiscal year military construction budget. It’s a
service-disabled, veteran-owned small business that has been
performing general contracting services for federal and state
government agencies since 2006.

In the year that followed, Washington recreational
marijuana businesses
recorded more than $250 million in gross sales,
generating $62 million for the state in excise taxes. Add in
other state and local taxes and the total tax bill topped $70
million.

Kitsap marijuana retailers, growers and processors
grossed about $5.75 million, generating $1.44 million in
excise tax, according to statistics made available by the Liquor Control Board. Nearly $5
million of gross revenue came from the retail side.

During the first year of sales, marijuana was taxed 25 percent
when sold between a producer and processor, another 25 percent when
sold to the retailer, and a final 25 percent when sold to the
consumer, resulting in an excise tax of up to 75 percent.